talked about local agriculture with my students, telling them it’s one of my interests when I introduced myself

Learn a new skill.

How to use a pressure cooker! It was scary at first, but kind of anticlimactic because it was easier than I thought it would be!

In the last two weeks, a lot has gone on in my gardens. I collected seeds from my Cosmos, which was pretty cool because it’s the first time that I’ve ever collected and saved seeds. I’d like to learn how to save more seeds from all different types of plants. The second crop of lettuce is doing really well, and it looks like I’ll be taking salad for lunch in the coming week so that it doesn’t go to waste. I’ll just have to pick and wash it the night before. I harvested all of the carrots that I planted in spring. Some looked just as I expected them to look, while others looked like carrot golf balls. I think the soil was too packed or there were too many rocks or something like that. I sliced and roasted them with olive oil, and you’d never be able to tell how they looked before. I’m definitely inspired to try growing carrots again in the future.

As the Five-Minute Shower Challenge draws to a close, I think I was very successful. I consistently cut my showering time. Not always at five minutes, but always quicker than I used to be. I haven’t used the big tub all summer, but I know I’ll use it more as the weather cools off. I will continue to take shorter showers, as I now know how much time it saves me in the morning!

I have to admit that this challenge fell through the cracks. I tried to eat mindfully, but the truth is that I enjoy food, cooking, baking, experimenting, and sharing meals with family and friends. One thing that I have learned is that eating out is not inherently bad, I just need to learn to make better choices. While I won’t be continuing with this challenge into September, I will be back on track with eating breakfast and bringing lunch to work. It seems that the lack of structure to my day in the summer allowed me to eat irregularly, often skipping breakfast and making up for it later in the day. The regular schedule of breakfast at 6:30 and lunch at noon will help, since I really can’t snack at work!